Tuesday, June 05, 2012

The vampire skeletons of Bulgaria: Human remains from Middle Ages found with iron rods staked through their chests

The discovery was made near the Saint Nicholas Wonderworker monastery in Sozopol. Photo by dariknews.bg

If you thought vampires were simply the stuff of myth and legend - and perhaps the odd teen horror film - think again.

Archaeologists in Bulgaria have unearthed two skeletons from the Middle Ages pierced through the chest with iron rods to keep them from turning into the undead.

They are the latest in a succession of finds across western and central Europe which shed new light on just how seriously people took the threat of vampires and how those beliefs transformed into the modern myth.

The two skeletons, believed to be around 800 years old, were discovered during an archaeological dig near a monastery in the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Sozopol.

Bulgaria's national history museum chief Bozhidar Dimitrov said: 'These two skeletons stabbed with rods illustrate a practice which was common in some Bulgarian villages up until the first decade of the 20th century.'

Over 100 'Vampire' Graves Discovered in Bulgaria - Official

Over 100 buried people whose corpses were stabbed to prevent them from becoming vampires have been discovered across Bulgaria over the years, according to Bozhidar Dimitrov, head of the Bulgarian National History Museum.

On Sunday, local media reported that two Middle Age "vampires" had been discovered by archaeologists in the Black Sea town of Sozopol. Big iron sticks with which the two men's bodies had been stabbed were found in their graves.

"I do not know why an ordinary discovery like that became so popular. Perhaps because of the mysteriousness of the word "vampire," Dimitrov has commented, as cited by Sega.